Royals Could Pursue Mariners $10 Million Utility Man After Non-Tender
The Kansas City Royals are a team that is in need of an offensive boost. They overcame a 106-loss season in 2023 and made it to the postseason in 2024, but they were stopped by the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and their lack of offense beyond Bobby Witt Jr. proved to be costly.
The Royals pitching is in good shape, but they need to find ways to bolster their offense if they want to return to the postseason in 2025.
Max Rieper of SB Nation listed several free agents that could help the Royals after being non-tendered by their previous teams. On the list was Seattle Mariners utility man Josh Rojas.
"Josh Rojas could fill the Garrett Hampson utility role this season. He’s a lefty bat who can play all over the field with good defensive metrics. He can draw some walks, hit a home run now and then, and steal some bases, although his baserunning metrics were poor this year. He hit just .225/.304/.336 but was a 1.9 fWAR player, making him a surprising non-tender," Rieper wrote.
Rojas obviously struggled with the Mariners in 2024, but he is somebody that could help the Royals out as a utility man rather than an everyday player. He did slash .272/.304/.336 in 46 games with Seattle last year after joining the team at the trade deadline.
Spotrac projects that the 30-year-old will receive a deal with close to $10 million in average annual value. We'll see if Kansas City makes a move.
More MLB: Ex-Cubs $2 Million On-Base Machine Linked To Royals After Surprise Non-Tender
Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.